Binge watching updates…

After a long time I spent the past two days (today & yesterday) doing nothing but binge watch. Family gone over to India for a few days, I am all to myself. Didn’t do any NSX or Citrix or study – simply plonked my feet up on the coach, hogged food, and watched TV. 

Legion

First up was Legion, which I had high expectations from coz it’s by Noah Hawley (of Fargo TV series fame). It was good but I wasn’t too impressed mainly coz I had high hopes I guess. Think I expected something like Fargo, while this was different. It’s visually stunning – the way the scenes are taken, the music, the performances – but wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. I know it’s a “me” thing so please don’t take this as a review/ comment on the show itself. I can’t even imagine what sort of a creative mind someone must have to imagine and execute the stuff on that show. It’s simply mind blowing!

I didn’t realize the lead character Dan Stevens was the same whose voice I knew from audiobooks. I had listened to him in the Agatha Christie audiobook “And Then There Were None”, loved his voice in that and searched for more audiobooks, found he’s also done Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (downloaded, not listened to yet) and the first James Bond book “Casino Royale” in the celebrity recordings (loved that performance!). Only when Dan Stevens began talking with the British accent did I feel that hmm this sounds familiar and realize that I had heard his voice in Audible. 

Anyways. Nice show. Very well taken. Wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. (Like for instance, Stranger Things or The OA – which are similar of a similar mood and I loved and associated with a lot more). 

11.22.63

Honestly, I thought this must be some horror show considering it’s Stephen King. Didn’t realize it was about time traveling and preventing the JFK assaination. It was wonderful! I loved this show. And James Franco was awesome. 

Interesting aside on James Franco – I am nowadays listening to his performance of “Slaughter House 5” by Kurt Vonnegut. He’s great in that. It’s a great book and James Franco has done an amazing job of it. Interesting how that book also has time traveling and talk of how everything just is and we are all in amber and questions of cause & effect & why are just human limitations etc. And then I see 11.22.63 which touches on similar stuff, especially with the pash pushing back etc. 

Also, the 60s set and simpler culture was a pleasure to watch. At the same time sad to see some of the stuff like treatment of women and blacks. Every age has its pluses and minus. :-/

Anyhoo. 11.22.63. Nice show. And loved James Franco!

Maigret’s Dead Man

Came across this by mistake. Checked it out coz it’s got Rowan Atkinson in it. Enjoyed it. Didn’t realize it’s actually the second episode of a reboot show. Got to watch the other episodes now. 

This show too is set in an older time. Was fun to see that. A very well taken movie/ episode over all. 

Maigret: Night at the Crossroads

Managed to watch this later on. This is the first episode in the second season. The previous one I had seen was the second episode in the first season. I haven’t managed to get hold of the first episode of the first season; and I believe there’s one more episode in this second season. 

Anyways. It was a good watch. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also reminded me a lot of “Foyle’s War” – which is a show I had similarly enjoyed. Both shows have similar pacing and music. Slow procedural mysteries with a main detective and his subordinates. 

Maigret sets a trap

Hurray, managed to watch this one too! I actually saw this and “Night at the Crossroads” after “Split” but thought I’d put them together with the first Maigret episode I watched. 

Am surprised “Maigret sets a trap” was the first episode of the reboot. It’s very different from the rest. Maigret is under pressure, his superiors want him off the case coz they believe he is not delivering, Maigret is moody himself due to this and clutching at straws, even his subordinates are a bit unsure if Maigret can pull this one off. The case itself is a very odd one. No clues, no connections, and we the viewers are left in suspense till the end as to whether Maigret caught the wrong man. It’s all kind of flimsy after all. But no – Maigret did catch the right man, and it’s all explained very well actually. A different but very nice episode. Fitting, in a way, for me to have ended my binge watching with this one. This is the kind of episode I’d have put across as a season finale. 

Looking forward to the next episode!

Split

Ok so this one wasn’t how I expected it to be. I was expecting some psychological thriller or more focus on the personalities themselves. Totally didn’t expect The Beast to actually appear in the end! It’s sort of like how I never expected aliens in Shyamalan’s “Signs” and boom! they make an appearance. Great performances by James McAvoy and a well taken movie over all. 

Oh. And the “Unbreakable” reference in the end? Totally didn’t expect that. Ooooh. “Unbreakable” is one of my favorite Shyamalan movies (THE favorite movie I’d say). 

I have to stop thinking of Shyamalan as a director with a twist in the end. It’s all coz of “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” and “Signs”. Got to keep in mind that one can expect monster and aliens all that stuff. He is more into the horror thrill genre now. 

Miss Sloane

I started watching this movie thinking it would be action thriller like the Bourne movies or something. ;-) After I realized it was about lobbying and senate hearings and bill passing etc I had a good mind to stop watching … but for the character of Miss Sloane! Boy she was something. What a character. An odd, cold, personality … it was something! A great movie. More than that, a great character. And a good insight into the kind of stuff that happens as part of lobbying (most of which made no sense to me and was of no interest). 

That’s all for now!

Update:

The Dressmaker

Saw this the next day but thought I’d add it with the rest anyways. God, what a bore of a movie. The synopsis mentioned this being a revenge story or something, so I imagined something alone the lines of “The Count of Monte Cristo”. There’s some revenge alright – towards the end – but it’s a drag until then with some nice moments interpresed here and there. The movie’s nearly 2 hours long. Think I could have done something way useful with that time! Bleh. 

Hugo Weaving’s character was quite good by the way. Very different to his other roles. The story is good; the movie is good too, am sure, for others – just wasn’t my cup of tea. This is a revenge story with a lot of drama. I want a revenge story with a lot more action and speed.